Ducal Diet

Ducal Diet
Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	6 months
History
Founded	9 February 2023
Leadership
The Duke	Arthur V
Lord President	Jonathan Scherer, PP since 9 February 2024
Vice President	Gabriel Torres, UD since 9 February 2024
Structure
Seats	Currently 10
Political groups	Government (6):   Popular Party (6) Opposition (4):   Democratic Union (4)
Elections
Voting system	Block voting with Panachage (8) Appointed at the Monarch's will (2)
Last election	9 February 2024
Next election	9 August 2024
Meeting place
Palais de Faux, Blauberga (Carried out online at the Palais de Faux Discord room)

The Ducal Diet (Portuguese: Dieta Ducal), often referred to as The Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the Duchy of Marienbourg. It is made up of 10 members, 8 elected and 2 appointed by the Monarch. Every 5 parliamentarians represents each of the two municipalities of Marienbourg; among them, 4 serve six-month terms (those elected) and 1 serve a one-year term (those appointed). The Minister-President of Marienbourg, national executive for the country, is appointed by the Monarch from among members of the political party, coalition or federation that controls the majority of seats. His and his cabinet's position depends both on the parliamentary confidence and royal will, otherwise, lose their office.

The Diet was inaugurated on 9 February 2023 through the enactment of the Constitution of Marienbourg by the Constituent Assembly of 2022. Although it does not officially adopt a two-party system, there are currently two parties active opposites: the center-right big-tent Popular Party and the center-left national branch Democratic Union. The Diet is led by a Lord President elected by its members. By convention, the Vice President tends to be from the opposition party to the President. Legally all legislative power draws from the Duke as Sovereign, and thus he retains powers to issue decrees with effect of law and to dissolve the parliament at will.

Legislative functions

The Diet perform powers on the legislative sphere. It enact laws, amends the constitution (this one requires a referendum), holds the power to dismiss a government through a vote of no confidence (under the Monarch's sanction), to authorize the government to apply or exempt taxes, take and grant loans and to deal in trade and commerce, to ratify treaties and other kinds of international agreements (with very few exceptions), to deal with conciliation and arbitration when required, to legislate on immigration and citizenship, tor recognize the throne's heir and to legislate in matters regarding the military institution. The Diet also creates and appoints members of special comissions and committees.

Political opposition represented in the parliament has the power to review the cabinet's actions, make counter-proposals and mimick the Council of Ministers with its own (labeled Mirror Council), although with the only goal of scrutinize the government's one.

Procedure

A legislative bill can be formally introduced by any member of the Diet, by the Sovereign, by the Prefects of the country's municipalities and by any enfranchised citizen. The President of the Diet read the proposed bill and puts it up to voting by thei chamber. If a bill is approved, it is immediatly sent to the Duke's office for his royal assent or veto. If a bill fails it can be voted on again in the next session; if the second vote is approved, it follows normal procedures; if it is rejected again, the bill is shelved and can only be revived after a month. If a bill approved is vetoed, then it is returned to the Diet and submitted to changes, so it must be voted and approved there again to be sent to the Sovereign for his judgement.

The Duke possesses constitutional power to sanction and veto any parliamentary decision at his will regardless of whether they were approved by the majority or not, except in cases where it is approved by popular referendum.

Composition

The Dual Diet is made up of ten members, eight of which are elected in proportional representation, that is, each municipality elects as many parliamentarians as it has inhabitants. Considering the size of the Marienbourgish resident population and its prospect for growth, for each two permanent residents, one parliamentarian is elected. The election takes place through block voting system, in which multiple candidates are elected at once and a group (voting bloc) of voters can force the system to elect only their preferred candidates, with panachage, which gives voters more than one vote in the same ballot and allows them to distribute their votes between or among individual candidates from different party lists. Members represent constituencies corresponding to the country's municipalities and their lenght of term is that of six months, with possibility of unlimited re-election. Members of the party or coalition with the most seats provide the Minister-President, who is appointed by the Monarch, and elect the President of the Diet. Furthermore, a quarter of the Diet's proportional seats are reserved for MPs appointed directly by the Monarch to serve 1-year terms.

Parties

The table below lists parties currently represented in the Diet. While the government provides the Lord President of the Diet, traditionally the Vice-President of the Diet is held by the leader of the largest party outside the government.

Name			Ideologies	Leader	Current seats
	PP	Popular Party Partido Popular	Big tent	---	6 / 10
	UD	Democratic Union União Democrática	Socialism	---	4 / 10

Seats

Elected MP	Party		Municipality	Took office	Seat #	Notes
Elected
Stella Carvalho		Democratic Union	Pomerade	9 February 2023	1
Filipe Arantes		Democratic Union	Pomerade	9 February 2023	2
Gabriel Torres		Democratic Union	Blauberga	9 February 2023	3	Vice-President of the Diet
Jonathan Scherer		Popular Party	Blauberga	9 February 2023	4	Appointed by the Monarch; President of the Diet
Guilherme Wünsch		Popular Party	Blauberga	9 February 2023	5
Edgar Viçosa		Popular Party	Blauberga	9 February 2023	6
Victor Braz		Popular Party	Pomerade	9 February 2023	7
Fernando Toledo		Popular Party	Pomerade	9 February 2023	8	Appointed by the Monarch
Victor Yang		Popular Party	Pomerade	9 February 2024	9
Gabriel Calixto		Democratic Union	Blauberga	9 February 2024	10